Konishi Hikohito winner of the 2009 Barbara Cappochin prize

Konishi Hikohito winner of the 2009 Barbara Cappochin prize.

This biennial prize aims to raise public awareness and bring together the various actors in the field of architecture: town planners, builders and customers, and promote environment and construction quality in an urban or natural setting. The third edition honours buildings completed between July 2006 and June 2009.

The international grand prize is awarded to the Japanese architect Konishi Hikohito for a residential complex in a rural environment on the island of Hokkaido, the Aikoku farmhouse, unanimously praised by the jury for its simplicity, humility and authenticity as well as for its efficiency and its capacity to structure the heterogenous volumes of the adjacent agricultural buildings. This prize is worth 65000 euros. Three mentions were also awarded: to Riccardo Vannucci (Burkina Faso); Gerhard Wittfeld (Austria); Juan Miro (USA).

The special prize for construction detail quality was awarded to Piergiorgio Semerano (Italy); two mentions went to Charlotte Skene Catling (United Kingdom) and Laraine Sperling (China).

Francisco Mangado, WINNER OF THE FIRST GIANCARLO IUS GOLD MEDAL
The gold medal dedicated to the memory of Giancarlo Ius* is henceforth awarded in the framework of the Barbara Cappochin Prize and honours innovative realisations in the field of sustainable construction. The Spanish architect Francisco Mangado is the first winner of this medal awarded to the Spanish pavillion at the international exhibition in Saragossa in 2008. A very strong example of bioclimatic architecture fully respecting the environment and the climate; a forceful and innovative architectural statement in the city.

Since its creation, the Barbara Cappochin Prize has met with growing interest. For this third session, four hundred and thirty projects from fifty countries were presented to the international jury. Under the chairmanship of Gaëtan Siew, UIA past President, the jury was composed of the following architects, Fulvio Irace, President of the Architecture Section of the Milan Triennial, Kengo Kuma (Japan), Jordi Querol (Spain), Nikos Fintikakis (Greece), Fabrizio Mangoni (Italy) and Matias Sambarino (Uruguay).

Organised, since 2005, by the Barbara Cappochin Foundation, with UIA support, this prize is part of the programme for the Padua Internationale biennial of architecture that will be held on 26-27 October 2009 and present an exhibition and conference devoted to the work of Zaha Hadid.

http://www.barbaracappochinfoundation.net/

*Giancarlo Ius, who disappeared tragically in 2008, was a UIA Vice-President. His name is henceforth associated with that of Gaëtan Siew with whom he shares, postumously, the 2005-2008 UIA presidency.